calefactory

[ kal-uh-fak-tuh-ree, -fak-tree ]

/ ˌkæl əˈfæk tə ri, -ˈfæk tri /

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adjective

serving to heat.

noun, plural cal·e·fac·to·ries.

a heated parlor or sitting room in a monastery.

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Origin of calefactory

1530–40; <Late Latin calefactōrius having a warming or heating power, equivalent to Latin calefac(ere) to make warm (see calefacient) + -tōrius-tory¹

Words nearby calefactory

Caledonian, Caledonian Canal, calef., calefacient, calefaction, calefactory, calendar, calendar art, calendar clock, calendar day, calendarize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use calefactory in a sentence

Large portions also remain of the sacristy, chapterhouse, and calefactory.
The Heart of Wessex|Sidney Heath
Leading out of it is the ancient "calefactory," where the fire for the censers and thuribles was preserved.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Winchester|Philip Walsingham Sergeant
The sick, and those who had leave, were shaved apart from the rest in the warmer calefactory.
English Monastic Life|Abbot Gasquet
Here is where the Calefactory stood in almost all the old Cistercian monasteries.
Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for calefactory

calefactory

/ (ˌkælɪˈfæktərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

giving warmth

noun plural -ries

a heated sitting room in a monastery

Word Origin for calefactory

C16: from Latin calefactōrius, from calefactus made warm; see calefacient

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012